The 2004 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 39th in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first year under head coach Jim Mora. Under Mora, the team went 11–5, advancing to the playoffs. After easily handling the 8–8 St. Louis Rams in the divisional round, the Falcons advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1998, but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons did not make the postseason again until 2008 and would not appear in the NFC Championship again until 2012.
The team led the NFL in rushing in 2004, with 2,672 yards.
Offseason The Falcons signed former Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Rod Coleman and former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jason Webster in free agency.
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season Schedule In the 2004 regular season, the Falcons’ non-divisional, conference opponents were primarily from the NFC West, although they also played the Detroit Lions from the NFC North, and the New York Giants from the NFC East. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC West. Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 12 at San Francisco 49ers W 21–19 1–0 65,584 2 September 19 St. Louis Rams W 34–17 2–0 70,822 3 September 26 Arizona Cardinals W 6–3 3–0 70,534 4 October 3 at Carolina Panthers W 27–10 4–0 73,461 5 October 10 Detroit Lions L 10–17 4–1 70,434 6 October 17 San Diego Chargers W 21–20 5–1 70,187 7 October 24 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–56 5–2 78,260 8 October 31 at Denver Broncos W 41–28 6–2 75,083 9 Bye 10 November 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–14 7–2 70,810 11 November 21 at New York Giants W 14–10 8–2 78,793 12 November 28 New Orleans Saints W 24–21 9–2 70,521 13 December 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 0–27 9–3 65,556 14 December 12 Oakland Raiders W 35–10 10–3 70,616 15 Carolina Panthers W 34–31 (OT) 11–3 70,845 16 December 26 at New Orleans Saints L 13–26 11–4 64,900 17 January 2 at Seattle Seahawks L 26–28 11–5 66,740Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Regular season results Week 1
The Falcons began their season by traveling to San Francisco, where Falcons head coach Jim L. Mora had coached the last five years as the 49ers defensive coordinator,Access my library to play the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons scored first with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick to Alge Crumpler. In the second quarter the Falcons scored again with a two-yard touchdown run by Warrick Dunn. Dunn ran for a second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter this one from nine yards out. The 49ers did battle back with two touchdown passes from Tim Rattay late in the fourth quarter. At the end of the game the 49ers could have tied the game at 21points with a two-point conversion. Their attempt at a two-point conversion failed as Tim Rattay’s pass to Brandon Lloyd was defended by Rod Coleman. Tight end Alge Crumpler finished the game with 6 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown; at that time it was Crumpler's second best game of his career
Week 2 For the Falcons home opener the 1–0 St. Louis Rams came to the Georgia Dome to take on the 1–0 Falcons. The Falcons started their second drive of the game from their own 18-yard line when Michael Vick dumped a pass off to his full back Justin Griffith. Griffith took the ball all the way to the St. Louis 20 for a 62-yard gain. 4 plays later Vick found Griffith again this time for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons the lead 7 to 0. In the second quarter Vick set up the Falcons second score of the game, with a 14-yard run to the St. Louis 2-yard line. Vick's run was followed by Warrick Dunn scoring the Falcons second touchdown of the game. After Jay Feely’s extra point the Falcons had the lead 14 to 0. On the following drive the Rams’ offence moved the ball 82 yards to the Falcon's 1-yard line where Marshall Faulk capped of the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Vick and the Falcons got the ball back with 1:06 left before half time. Vick's 3 rushes on the drive for 20, 14, and 18 yards put Falcons kicker Jay Feely in range for a 35-yard field goal with 6 seconds left in the half. The Falcon's went into half time with a 10-point lead. In the third quarter Ram's QB Marc Bulger completed 4 of 5 passes as he moved the ball down the field on an 80-yard touchdown drive. The drive was capped off with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt, which cut the Falcons lead 3 points. Later in the third quarter the rams tied when Jeff Wilkins hit a 46-yard field goal to make the score 17 to 17. On the next drive Vick completed 3 of his 4 pass attempts for 48 yards. He then set up another Warrick Dunn 2-yard touchdown run with a 7-yard rush from the St. Louis 9-yard line. Because of a taunting penalty on the kick off the rams started their ensuing drive on their own 10-yard line. On first down Patrick Kerney sacked Ram's QB Marc Bulger at the St. Louis 1-yard line. Backed up at their own 1-yard line Bulger and the Rams wanted to try to make a big play (after the game Bulger said "I was going for a home run,"). When Bulger dropped back to pass in his own end zone Falcon's defensive end Brady Smith got into the back field, and took the ball right from Bulger's hand for a touchdown. Bulger almost got the pass off for what could have been a 99-yard touchdown for the Rams. "I was a half-second away from letting the ball go. ... It could have been a touchdown the other way." Said Bulger after the game. The Falcons kicked one more field goal before the game ended to make the final score Falcons 34, Rams 17. . For the third time in his career Vick ran for more than 100 yards in a game; he finished the game with 109. For the second week in a row Warrick Dunn ran for 2 touchdowns .
Week 3 In week 3 the winless Arizona Cardinals came to the Georgia Dome to play the unbeaten Falcons. On the Falcons first drive, running back Warrick Dunn ran for a 60-yard gain that put the Falcons at the Arizona 8-yard line. 4 plays after the long Warrick Dunn run the Falcons took the lead (3 to 0) with a 25-yard Jay Feely field goal. Early in the second quarter Arizona punter Scott Player punted the ball to Falcons’ punt and kick returner Allen Rossum. Rossum returned the punt 30 yards to give the Falcons great field position at the Arizona 39-yard line. The Falcons were unable to score a touchdown on the drive, but Feely did kick a 23-yard field goal to make the score 6 to 0. Late in the second quarter Falcons’ defensive tackle Rod Coleman sacked and forced a fumble by Cardinals’ quarterback Josh McCown. Cloeman also recovered the fumble to give the Falcons the ball at the Arizona 13-yard line. The Falcons were unable to capitalize on the turnover, and Michael Vick fumbled at the Arizona 8-yard line, which gave the Cardinals the ball back with 27 seconds left in the first half. After the Falcons punted on their first possession to start the second half 4 consecutive drives ended in turnovers: • Coleman recorded his second forced fumble of the game • On the ensuing Falcons drive Vick fumbled for the second time • Falcons’ defensive end Brady Smith forced a third McCown fumble • 2 plays later Vick was intercepted by Cardinals’ safety Adrian Wilson Wilson's interception gave the Cardinals’ great field possession. The Cardinals were only able to gain 6 yards on the drive, but Neil Rackers 30-yard field goal shrunk the Falcons’ lead to 3 points. Later in the fourth quarter both teams fumbled again. Dunn fumbled at his own 21-yard line which put Arizona in range to kick a game-tying field goal, but 2 plays later Arizona wide receiver Karl Williams fumbled, which gave the ball to Atlanta. On the Falcons final drive, Vick sealed the victory with a 58-yard run. The rush was the longest of Vick's career. After the game Vick admitted he was thinking about more than winning the game during his 58-yard run. "I was thinking about getting the first down and getting out of bounds... but then I was thinking about the type of game I was having and decided I can make something happen. I wanted to score," said Vick.
Week 4 In week 4 the still unbeaten Falcons traveled to Carolina to play the 1 and 1 Carolina Panthers. In the Falcons’ first drive of the game Michael Vick completed his first pass to wide receiver Dez White for 19 yards, and his second to Justin Griffith for 18. Vick's passes were followed by a 38-yard touchdown run by Warrick Dunn which gave the Falcons’ an early lead (7 to 0). On the next drive Carolina wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad had two big receptions for 34 and 23-yard gains. Following Muhammad's 23-yard catch, running back DeShaun Foster scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Foster's run tied the game at 7 points. The first quarter action continued Atlanta tight end Alge Crumpler caught 3 passes from Vick, for 17, 5, and, 24-yard gains, that put the Falcons in range for Jay Feely to kick a 47-yard field goal, which put the Falcons back on top 10 to 7. Early in the second quarter the Falcons put together another good drive which resulted in a successful Feely Field goal attempt. Feely's 2nd field goal extended the Falcons’ lead to 6 points, and capped off the Falcons third consecutive scouring drive. Late in the first half Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme completed 8 of 9 passes to put Carolina kicker John Kasay in range to hit a 26-yard field goal with 46 seconds left in the half. Kasay's kick brought the score to 13 to 10 going into half time. Neither team scored again until early in the fourth quarter when Falcon defensive back Kevin Mathis intercepted a Delhomme pass, and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Later in the fourth quarter Carolina punter Todd Sauerbrun punted the ball to Atlanta return man Allen Rossum who returned the punt 25 yards to the Carolina 40-yard line. Following the return by Rossum, Atlanta turned to running back T. J. Duckett. Duckett carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards, the last of which was a 4-yard touchdown. Duckett's touchdown gave the Falcons a 17-point lead with only 4:16 left in the ball game. The panthers were unable to score in the last 4 minutes, and the Falcons won 27 to 10. After the game Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers spoke about how they might have paid too much attention to Vick. "We get sidetracked as a team, as a defensive unit, in thinking we've got to stop one person. There's 10 other people out there ... if you focus on just one, someone else will kill you," said Peppers after the game.
Week 5